Chapter Summaries

Jing Hongchen verified Lin You’s Element Theory through Xuan Ziwen’s microscopic Soul Tool and became convinced it could transform Soul Engineer research. He ordered Illustrious Virtue Hall to promote the theory throughout the academy and the Sun Moon Empire, unaware that this was precisely what Lin You wanted.

• Jing Hongchen questioned Xuan Ziwen about whether the atoms and molecules in Lin You’s Element Theory were real.
• Xuan Ziwen showed Jing Hongchen a modified microscopic observation Soul Tool, and Jing Hongchen saw the particles composing matter.
• Jing Hongchen studied Lin You’s materials and Xuan Ziwen’s observations for ten hours, forgetting about the planned sparring session.
• Lin Jiayi told Jing Hongchen that research groups had delayed their reports, and Jing Hongchen realized their members had become absorbed in Element Theory.
• Jing Hongchen postponed the sparring and ordered Lin Jiayi to make Element Theory Illustrious Virtue Hall’s highest-priority promotion project.

The Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy arranged a five-day challenge in which Lin You would face its Soul Engineers, and hundreds of students registered to compete. As the event began before a packed crowd, Lin You remained confident that his elemental power gave him an advantage against metal Soul Tools.

• Jing Hongchen announced that students above four rings could challenge Lin You, with Mingde Hall access, 100,000 Gold Soul Coins, and a custom Soul Tool as the reward for defeating him.
• More than three hundred students registered, and He Caitou told Lin You that a betting pool had gathered over two thousand kilograms of Rare Metal and nearly 500,000 Gold Soul Coins against him.
• Fan Yu warned Lin You not to underestimate the academy, and Lin You revealed that Oxidation Erosion was his trump card against metal Soul Tools.
• The next day, students and teachers filled the Soul Guidance Device Trial Field, where classes had been suspended for the highly anticipated sparring event.

Lin You faced the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy in a public sparring match, while Shrek’s students provoked the crowd with an insulting banner. He remained calm as the academy’s students grew eager to challenge him.

• Jing Hongchen announced the sparring match and its rules to the gathered students.
• Teacher Fan Yu led Shrek Academy’s exchange students into the trial field, with Lin You at the front.
• He Caitou and the others unfurled a banner mocking the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy and daring students to fight Lin You.
• The banner enraged the academy’s students, though some wondered whether Lin You had approved it.
• Zi Mu admitted he feared fighting Lin You, while Ju Zi trusted that Lin You had a reason to accept the challenge.

Lin You faced the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy’s first challenger, Liu Ming, and overwhelmed the crowd with his astonishing speed. He charged directly into Liu Ming’s combined Soul Tool attack, leaving the outcome unresolved.

• Jing Hongchen quieted the Trial Field and announced the first exchange match.
• Liu Ming introduced himself as a Fifth-Level Soul Engineer, while Lin You identified himself as a Four Ring Soul Ancestor from Shrek Academy.
• At Jing Hongchen’s signal, Liu Ming fired a Soul Guidance Ray, but Lin You evaded it and rapidly closed the distance.
• Liu Ming countered with a concussion cannon, an electric net, and a High-Explosive Soul Guidance Cannon shell.
• Lin You ignored the incoming attacks and charged straight into the High-Explosive Soul Guidance Cannon shell.

Lin You endured Liu Ming’s Soul Tool barrage, bypassed his energy shield, and defeated him with a practiced Iron Mountain Lean. He left the Trial Field unharmed and told Jing Hongchen the attacks had only felt itchy.

• Lin You emerged from Liu Ming’s High-Explosive Soul Guidance Cannon blast almost completely unharmed.
• Liu Ming fired a barrage of Soul Guidance Rays, but they clanged harmlessly against Lin You’s metallic-looking skin.
• Liu Ming activated his energy shield, but Lin You turned into pale cyan airflow and passed through it.
• Lin You struck Liu Ming with an Iron Mountain Lean, breaking through his defenses and knocking him unconscious.
• Lin You dusted himself off, looked toward Jing Hongchen, and said that it had been kind of itchy.

Lin You decisively defeated Liu Ming in the sparring match, astonishing the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy with his strength. Jing Hongchen revealed that Lin You was only thirteen, leaving the students shocked and Ju Zi flustered by her feelings for someone five years younger.

• Lin You defeated Liu Ming with a single shoulder slam, and Teacher Xuan confirmed Liu Ming was unconscious but unharmed.
• Lin You declined to rest and said he was ready to continue the gauntlet match, provoking angry reactions from the students.
• Jing Hongchen silenced the crowd and challenged the students to learn from Lin You instead of complaining.
• Jing Hongchen revealed that Lin You was thirteen, shocking the academy students with the gap between his age and ability.
• Ju Zi realized Lin You was five years younger than her and became embarrassed and confused about her fondness for him.

After Lin You’s first victory and Jing Hongchen’s revelation that he was thirteen, the academy’s students lost much of their confidence. Wan Yijun entered the second challenge and launched a long-range barrage while charging a powerful attack.

• Lin You judged that Jing Hongchen’s revelation had discouraged the students and called for the next challenger.
• Jing Hongchen noticed the crowd’s reaction and signaled Lin Jiayi to begin the second challenge.
• Wan Yijun, a Sixth Grade student and Level 6 Soul Engineer, introduced himself and took his place across from Lin You.
• When the match began, Wan Yijun retreated to the edge of the field and fired Soul Guidance Rays of four different attributes at Lin You.
• Wan Yijun overloaded his Soul Guidance Devices and began charging a powerful attack.

Lin You revealed his four-ring configuration and used Elementalization to let Wan Yijun’s seventh-grade Destruction Beam pass harmlessly through his body. Wan Yijun’s strongest attack failed, leaving Lin You unharmed and the match unresolved.

• Wan Yijun bombarded Lin You with elemental rays, but they could not damage him.
• Wan Yijun overloaded his chest-mounted Soul Tool and fired the seventh-grade Destruction Beam at Lin You.
• Lin You revealed yellow, purple, black, and black soul rings, shocking the spectators with his two Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings.
• Lin You activated his first Soul Skill, Elementalization, and transformed into an air current that the Destruction Beam passed through.
• Wan Yijun stared in disbelief as his attack struck the arena barrier and Lin You remained unharmed.

Lin You defeated Wan Yijun by letting his Class 7 Soul Tool attack pass through his elementalized body, then knocked him unconscious with a single kick. As the stunned audience fell silent, Lin You faced Nana, a well-regarded Sixth Grade student from the Practical Control Soul Tool Department, for the third match.

• Wan Yijun's overloaded Soul Tool cannon attack passed through Lin You, who reformed above him and kicked him out of the Trial Field.
• Jing Hongchen ordered Lin Jiayi to send a defensive Class 5 close-combat Soul Engineer into the next match to test Lin You at close range.
• Lin You remarked that the silent arena felt like a library, and the audience watched him with awe and unease.
• Nana introduced herself as a Sixth Grade student from the Practical Control Soul Tool Department, and the students cheered for her.
• Xuan Ziwen began the third exchange match between Lin You and Nana.

Nana used her Phantom Martial Soul and close-combat Soul Tools to challenge Lin You, but his physical strength and control of fire overwhelmed her. After both fighters evaded each other’s attacks with their Soul Skills, the battle remained unresolved.

• Nana charged Lin You with her Phantom Martial Soul and tried to stab him with her Crimson Flame Blade, but his body repelled the attack.
• Nana unleashed flames from the blade, and Lin You swallowed them before coating the weapon in Phosphorus Fire and melting it.
• Nana stored the damaged Crimson Flame Blade and prepared to counter with her Light Spirit Blade, but Lin You rushed her with a powerful kick.
• Nana used Phantom Possession to let Lin You’s kick pass through her, then attacked his throat with her blade and Wind Blades.
• Lin You used Elementalization to let Nana’s counterattack pass through his body, leaving both fighters’ attacks ineffective.

Nana used her strongest attacks against Lin You, but he overcame both her soul assault and her Wind Blades with overwhelming Spiritual Power and thick calcium armor. She launched her final attack with the Blink Sword, and Lin You calmly blew toward her as it struck.

• Nana attacked Lin You’s air-current form with Vengeful Spirit and Wind Blades, but Lin You’s Spiritual Power overwhelmed her soul attack and caused severe backlash.
• Lin You transformed back into human form and covered himself in half a meter of calcium armor, which withstood Nana’s Wind Blades.
• Nana drew her sixth-level Blink Sword and poured her remaining strength into a high-speed strike at Lin You’s armor.
• Lin You calmly raised his head and blew a breath toward Nana as her Blink Sword rushed at him.

Lin You defeated Nana by creating an Ice Wall with a breath, breaking the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy students’ confidence. He finished the first day with thirty consecutive wins, leaving the academy students dreading the remaining challenges.

• Lin You formed water from the air and froze it into an Ice Wall that stopped Nana’s full-powered attack and trapped her arm.
• Nana surrendered, and Lin You melted the ice on her arm before telling her she had let him win.
• Jing Hongchen and the spectators watched in shock and fear as Lin You called for the next challenger.
• After a long hesitation, another student stepped forward, and Lin You defeated thirteen more opponents that morning before completing his afternoon challenges.
• Lin You ended the first day with thirty consecutive wins, while Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy students left the trial field numb and dreaded the next five days.

Lin You returned to the Soul Tool Trial Field to face the Illustrious Virtue Hall students after his thirty consecutive victories had shaken the Sun Moon Academy. As the academy prepared to wear him down in a gauntlet, Ju Zi, Ke Ke, and Nana all bet on Lin You to win.

• Lin You arrived at the trial field, where Sun Moon Academy students anxiously hoped the Illustrious Virtue Hall elites could stop his winning streak.
• Jing Hongchen praised Lin You’s strength and announced that Illustrious Virtue Hall students would continue the exchange, while planning to use a gauntlet to exhaust him.
• Ju Zi told Ke Ke she had bet everything on Lin You, and Ke Ke decided to wager all her savings as well.
• At the betting counter, Nana placed one hundred Gold Soul Coins on Lin You after reviewing her defeat and accepting how far his strength surpassed hers.

Ju Zi reflected on her dangerous ties to the Crown Prince and her changing motives for revenge while Lin You faced Illustrious Virtue Hall's Lu Yao. Lin You defeated Lu Yao without moving by controlling the air around him, leaving the Trial Field's spectators in despair.

• Ke Ke told Ju Zi that Nana had bet on Lin You, then teased Ju Zi about having romantic rivals.
• Ju Zi warned Ke Ke not to joke about her feelings for Lin You because the Crown Prince might punish her, and reconsidered whether she could still rely on him for revenge.
• Lu Yao challenged Lin You and flew high above the arena to use aerial attacks and wear him down.
• Lin You controlled the oxygen around Lu Yao, causing him to lose strength and fall from the sky.
• Lu Yao's defensive Soul Tool protected him from the impact, but he passed out, and the arena fell silent.

Lin You continued defeating Illustrious Virtue Hall’s Soul Engineers, drawing the attention of Ji Juechen, who sensed a growing, unusual presence around him. Ji Juechen entered the arena to challenge Lin You, and their match began.

• Lin You overcame another Level 6 Soul Engineer by using his speed, strength, and spikes rising from the arena floor, bringing his victories that day to five.
• Jing Ziyan asked Ji Juechen to assess Lin You, and Ji Juechen initially dismissed him as an opponent who could not help improve his sword.
• After Jing Ziyan pointed out Lin You’s powerful presence, Ji Juechen sensed its strange, gathering pressure and decided to fight him himself.
• Ji Juechen stepped into the arena, where the spectators welcomed him as their hoped-for savior against Lin You.
• Lin You and Ji Juechen exchanged introductions, and the referee started their match.

Lin You confronted Ji Juechen’s full-force Sword Intent and struck it head-on with a golden fist, gaining sudden enlightenment about his elemental power. The clash triggered a massive crater, and Lin You’s aura expanded as he embraced his path of controlling reality and matter.

• Ji Juechen fused himself with his meteorite iron sword and unleashed a terrifying Sword Intent at Lin You.
• Lin You closed his eyes and used his Spiritual Power to perceive the nature of the incoming Sword Intent.
• Lin You opened his eyes, transformed his right arm with Gold Element Transformation, and punched Ji Juechen’s sword head-on.
• Their collision distorted the air and shattered the arena floor across an area more than thirty meters wide, shocking Jing Hongchen.
• Lin You realized that all forces depended on matter or energy and fell into enlightenment about his absolute control over the material world.
• Lin You released a vast, all-encompassing aura that resonated with the Trial Field and the world.

Lin You transformed the force of Ji Juechen’s sword strike into water and wore away his Sword Intent, stopping the attack inches from his body. Ji Juechen asked what technique Lin You had used, and Lin You called it “Thousand Mile Tide.”

• Lin You met Ji Juechen’s all-out sword strike with a golden-lit fist, injuring Ji Juechen and revealing a vast new presence that startled the spectators.
• Ji Juechen’s Battle Intent reignited, and he charged Lin You with a powerful sweeping sword strike.
• Lin You elementalized his body into water, disrupting Ji Juechen’s attack and steadily eroding the Sword Intent on his blade.
• Lin You stopped Ji Juechen’s sword three inches away, and Ji Juechen asked what technique he had used.
• Lin You named the technique “Thousand Mile Tide.”

Lin You defeated Ji Juechen, prompting Jing Hongchen to try to end the sparring before the academy students’ confidence was further shaken. The students instead accepted that they could not win and treated the rest of the day as a chance to test their Soul Tools against Lin You, leaving him ready to introduce Element Theory to the academy.

• Ji Juechen acknowledged his defeat by Lin You, then collapsed from exhaustion, and Jing Ziyan helped him off the Trial Field.
• Jing Hongchen tried to end the sparring, but Lin You urged the students to keep fighting and framed it as valuable combat experience.
• After realizing even Ji Juechen had lost, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy students relaxed and took turns testing their tactics and Soul Tools against Lin You.
• Ju Zi and Ke Ke joined the sparring, and Lin You blocked Ju Zi’s cannon and swept Ke Ke’s explosive Soul Tools into the protective barrier.
• Lin You sent off the final registered student at evening, ending the second day of challenges with the students less fearful and more accepting of their losses.
• Lin You watched the students leave and prepared to introduce Element Theory to the academy.

After five days of sparring at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Lin You explained how his powers came from the element theory he had proposed. The students began learning its basic principles, opening the way for further study of the theory.

• Lin You finished the five-day exchange sparring session after gently sending the last registered student off the field.
• A bespectacled senior student asked Lin You whether his abilities and low Soul Power use were connected to element theory.
• Lin You praised her observations and demonstrated transformations between breeze, ice, water, and fire.
• Lin You explained that his abilities came from controlling elements and described how water, air, ice, and hardened metal could be formed through elemental transformations.
• Lin You introduced the gathered students to the foundations of element theory without disclosing his Martial Soul secrets.

After Lin You’s five-day sweep at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy, Ju Zi and Ke Ke celebrated with him, while interest in Element Theory spread through the academy. Over dinner, Ju Zi asked Lin You what he thought of the Sun Moon Empire’s war and its treatment of ordinary people, leaving him to answer her doubts about the empire’s future.

• Lin You saw the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy students become fascinated by Element Theory and concluded that he had planted the idea successfully.
• After five days of victories, Lin You met Ju Zi and Ke Ke, who invited him to dinner and revealed they had won money betting on his matches.
• At Ju Zi and Ke Ke’s dormitory, they read an Illustrious Virtue Hall journal reporting observations of molecular structures and signs of atoms.
• Lin You, Ju Zi, and Ke Ke shared dinner and discussed Element Theory, while Ke Ke excitedly talked about spending her winnings.
• After Ke Ke went to rest, Ju Zi asked Lin You what he thought of war and condemned the Sun Moon Empire’s corruption, exploitation, and suppression of commoners.